


it's a scream, baby

by queen_ofdisaster



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Blood and Gore, Death, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Murder, Murder Mystery, Scream AU, Violence, not usually descriptive but it's certainly there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-08 23:14:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7777462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_ofdisaster/pseuds/queen_ofdisaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We all go a little mad sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. do you like scary movies?

**Author's Note:**

> Scream is my favorite movie of all time. Wrestling is my life. This AU felt necessary.

When Becky gets to school that morning, the first thing she does is go to find Sami and Finn. 

Correction: that's the second thing she does. The first thing she does is fix her hair, adjust her clothes and walk as nonchalantly as she can past Nikki Bella and her group of friends sat around the big fountain in front of the school. She casually looks over in that general direction, pretending as if something completely separate to them had caught her attention. She notices Nikki looking at her from the corner of her eye and forces herself to keep a neutral expression. She slows her pace, just a little, and prepares herself to meet Nikki's eye and give her a smile or wave of some sort, some kind of greeting.

Someone beats her to it. 

"Hey, Becky."

It's not the voice she was hoping for.

Brie Bella laughs as she yells out Becky's name, and Becky hears the familiar snickering of the rest of their friends around her. Sasha, Seth, Kevin. They're all chuckling. She can even hear Roman trying to muffle his laughter. Becky ducks her head and quickens her pace again. 

"Aw, you don't wanna say good morning to Nikki?" Sasha calls after her, her tone patronizing as usual. Becky's never been so glad to get to the front doors of the school, and she steps inside more eagerly than any student ever has. Even once she's in, she can feel her cheeks burning, and can almost still hear Nikki's friends laughing at her. 

She should be used to it by now. And it's her own fault, really. It wasn't like her crush on Nikki was a huge secret now. Becky has only ever told two people out loud how she felt for the other girl, but apparently, she'd not been as subtle as she thought. The staring, the "coincidental" daily bump-ins at the fountain or in the cafeteria or the hall somewhere. Becky finding literally any excuse to talk to her.

It's not a shock that Nikki's entire friend group had taken noticed. Nikki, at least, hasn't said anything. Her friends, however. They are not as kind.

By the time Becky reaches her locker, Finn and Sami are sat on the floor leaning against the row of lockers nearby, waiting for her. 

"You alright there, Bex?" Finn asks, concern evident in his voice and on his face as he looks up at her as she fumbles with her locker's combination. 

"Peachy," she lies, and they know she's lying. Both of the boys get to their feet, moving to stand on either side of her. Feeling the worry radiating from them, she sighs, giving in. Lying to them's pointless anyway. They've always been able to see right through her. "Everyone knows I like Nikki and it really freakin' sucks."

Sami and Finn give each other a knowing look over Becky's head - they've had this conversation many times - as she finally gets into her locker, aggressively tossing her backpack inside. 

"What did Seth say today?" Sami asks, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Brie and Sasha today," Becky corrects him, digging through the messy shelf of her locker. "They just always have to point it out, right in front of her. I know she knows, but can they just not be total dicks about it!" 

Finn reaches a hand out, patting her on the shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. It doesn't work. 

"They all suck," Sami agrees, in his own mild, less angry way. "If Nikki lets them say all this-"

Becky turns to him, her hair hitting Finn in the face as she wildly spins around. She puts a finger up to stop Sami. "Hey, she's not a bad person. Just her friends are. And her sister. And her stupid boyfriend." 

She scrunches her face up in disgust at the mention of Seth. What did Nikki see in him? Becky would never know. He was the stereotypical, asshole, pretty boy jock, with no redeeming qualities that Becky could see. It boggles her mind that he managed to get a girl like Nikki. 

Sami puts his hands up in defense. "I'm just saying, she's not exactly stopping them. She's no better."

He gets a hard glare for that comment, and he feels that the loud bang that comes as Becky slams her locker shut is directed at him. Becky clutches the books she'd pulled from the locker against her chest and starts walking past him. For a split second, Sami thinks he's upset her so much she's about to leave without them, but then she slows and turns to look at her two friends over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows as if to say _'well, are you coming?'_  


They follow, and Sami puts an arm around her shoulders as they walk. "I'm sorry people suck," he says, looking down at her with a sympathetic smile.

"Not all people suck," she replies. "Just those people. God, I hate them."

"Don't waste your energy, Becky," Sami tells her.

"Yeah, they're not worth it," Finn adds. "Come on, who makes fun of someone just because they like someone? That's so ridiculous." 

"Seth's probably just mad because he knows you're cooler than him and could steal his girl." When Sami says this, Becky finally cracks a smile, and Sami feels like he's accomplished something there. 

 

* * *

 

The day goes by much too slow for Nikki's liking. She woke up in a weird mood that morning and hasn't been able to shake it. By the time her last period class rolls around, she's relieved that the day's almost over.

Becky's there, sitting in her usual seat next to Finn and behind Roman. Nikki slides into the chair next to Roman and debates turning around to smile at Becky or something. She feels bad about that morning, as she always does. She made the mistake a couple months ago of mentioning to her friends that she thought this girl had a crush on her, and ever since, they won't drop it. They tease her every chance they get, and Nikki feels beyond guilty for ever bringing it up. 

She glances over her shoulder, but Becky is staring intently at the paper on her desk. Nikki does catch Finn's eye, and he gives her a less than warm and inviting look, so she quickly turns back around. She doesn't blame him for not liking her. Her friends aren't the nicest to him and his friends. Guilty by association, she gets it. 

"You still coming over for dinner tonight?" Nikki asks Roman as she pulls her textbook from her bag and sets it in front of her. 

She gets a shrug in response. "Dunno. I think your sister's pissed at me."

"What did you do?"

Roman scoffs, feigning offense. "Why do you assume I did something?"

She just raises an eyebrow at him, waiting.

"Okay," he sighs. "She wanted to have a whole date afternoon, date night type thing after school and I told her I can't."

Nikki nods. She had heard Brie talk about wanting to spend the day with Roman, including dinner with the family. "Why can't you?"

"I can make dinner," he explains. "I just have plans after school with Dean."

Nikki laughs. "Well, there's your problem right there. That's why she's pissed."

"I know, she hates Dean," Roman shakes his head. "I don't know why. He's my best friend."

Now it's Nikki's turn to feign offense. "On behalf of Seth, Kevin, Sasha and myself... Wow. I thought we were your best friends."

Roman rolls his eyes, unamused, and ignores her. "I grew up with the kid. He's like my brother." 

Nikki shrugs. "I get that, but she still hates him. She just doesn't trust him. Do you blame her?"

"I guess not," Roman mutters, just as the bell rings and Mr. Cole shouts out from his desk, telling everyone to take out their homework from the night before. "It's bullshit though." Roman's voice is lowered now that class has begun and they don't want to get caught talking. "He's a real good guy. If she just got to know him, she'd agree."

"Don't think she's interested in getting to know him," Nikki tells him honestly. In response, he only sighs, focusing his attention on his homework and Mr. Cole now.

Nikki does the same. 

 

* * *

 

After school ends, Nikki finds her way back to the fountain. Ever since their freshman year, Nikki and her friends had deemed that fountain as their spot. It's where they meet up every morning, at lunch and every afternoon. After almost four years, she finds comfort and familiarity there. Not just from the spot itself, but from the people who are there. 

Her twin sister is already there as Nikki and Roman approach, having walked together from their last class. Roman sits close to Brie, and she seems hesitant, but allows him to wrap his arms around her. After three years of dating and five years of friendship, Nikki has seen how hard it is for Brie to ever be truly upset with him, especially over things so small.

Also already at the fountain is Sasha, who the twins met their freshmen year when Brie joined the cheer team, and they all three became friends. Nikki takes a seat by her, accepting the piece of candy that's offered to her. She takes the red Twizzler with a smile and bites into it. 

"Hey, sweet thing," Seth shouts in greeting to Nikki as him and Kevin start approaching the fountain. He holds his arms open, like he's waiting for her to run into them, but he's still too far away. Nikki stays seated and takes another Twizzler from Sasha. 

"Sorry, your sweet thing wants my sweet things," Sasha jokes as the boys come closer. Nikki laughs, and doesn't argue. 

Seth scoffs, and Nikki can't tell if he's kidding or actually offended by her joke. It's hard to tell with Seth a lot of the time. 

Kevin falls into place by Sasha, putting his hand out, palm up, expecting to be given candy as well. Sasha rolls her eyes, but obliges. Meanwhile, Seth nudges Nikki in the side, making her stand up so he can take her spot and then pull her onto his lap. She wraps an arm around his shoulders to keep herself there.

"What's up with you and all this lady love, huh?" Seth asks Nikki. "First Becky, now Sasha. Is there something I need to know?"

"Ha ha," Nikki replies sarcastically, and Seth just chuckles.

"It's kinda hot, actually. 

Kevin leans forward, looking past Sasha and Nikki to see Seth. "Don't be gross," he tells him.

"I'm not!" Seth defends himself. "I'm just saying! It's hot. Well, the thought of you and Sasha is hot. Less so the thought of you and that Becky chick. She's a bit too..."

"Weird as hell," Brie interjects, tuning into the group's conversation and out of whatever she and Roman were discussing. 

Seth snaps his fingers. "Exactly. She's weird as hell." 

Brie and Sasha laugh, but Nikki shakes her head. "Come on, guys, she's really nice," Nikki tells them, trying her best to stick up for her. 

"Gross," Sasha mutters in response, making everyone chuckle again. 

"Speaking of gross..." Brie snarks, waving her hand towards the fence lining the school campus. Nikki turns to look in that direction, and spots the leather jacket right off the bat. 

Dean Ambrose, approaching the school's gate, looking dangerous and mysterious. Everything about him screams 'bad boy' and Nikki can't totally blame Brie for not wanting Roman to hang around him. He's the kind of guy who gets into trouble, and drags others down with him. At least, that's what the rumors claim. Roman claims he's a good guy, and he has been his best friend since they were eight. Nikki's not sure what to believe.

"Remind us again why you hang out with that lunatic," Kevin wants to know, sending suspicious glances in Dean's direction, but directing his words at Roman. "Wasn't he in juvie like, last month for killing a dude?"

"Hey, you don't know his story," Roman came to Dean's defense, pointing a finger in Kevin's face, which Kevin promptly swats away. "He was in juvie last _year,_ for some shit that was personal. I'm not about to give you the gritty details of his personal life. But no, Kevin, he did not kill a dude. He'd be in jail if he murdered someone, you idiot."

Kevin rolls his eyes, clearly not appreciating the insult, or being corrected. But he doesn't say anything else.

Seth does. "He's crazy enough that he's not allowed in our school. Can't we call the cops? He's too close to the property."

"He was expelled, dude. He's not on the damn sex offenders list."

Nikki giggles at that, and gets an annoyed look shot her way from Seth for it. She bites her lip to quiet herself. 

"Everyone knows he's bad news, Roman," Brie says. "I don't trust him, I don't like him, and I don't like that you spend so much time with him." 

"He's my brother, babe," Roman says. He puts a hand on her knee and she brushes it off. 

"And I'm your girlfriend. He's not even your real brother, Roman."

Roman stands, grabbing his bag and slinging it over one shoulder. He raises a hand, getting Dean's attention from behind the fence, and waving at him. He puts a finger up, signaling he'll be over there in just a second. 

"He might as well be," Roman tells her. "Can I have a kiss, or are you gonna be mad at me for hanging out with my friend?" 

Brie deliberately doesn't answer him. "If you go hang out with him, don't bother coming over tonight," she says, and it sounds like a reminder, something Roman's heard a few times already. 

He hesitates, sighs, then leans down, kissing Brie's cheek before starting towards the fence. Brie huffs, frustrated but not surprised. 

"Whatever," she mumbles under her breath. Roman too far away now to hear her. She stands suddenly, glaring at her boyfriend's retreating back before looking at Nikki. "Come on. Let's go home."

"Oh, I actually-" Nikki starts, but Brie's already quickly gathering her things and getting ready to walk off towards their shared car. "I have practice today."

Soccer practice is the last thing Nikki wants to do that day. She's tired after a day of classes, and is still in a weird mood, but she can't just not show up. She's the captain. It's her job to set a good example for the team. Ditching practice whenever she felt wasn't doing that. 

Brie stops her movements and looks at her sister. "Seriously? Okay, well, how late are you gonna be? I don't wanna walk home, but I guess you can't walk home in the dark."

Nikki shrugs. "I don't know. Practice ends at five, but it could go later." She glances at her boyfriend. "Babe, could you give Brie a ride home so I can keep the car?"

Seth looks like he wants to object, but changes his mind at the last second. "Yeah, fine." 

He slaps her on the lower back, motioning for her to get off his lap. She does so, and he starts picking up his own things. "Let's go, Bella number two."

Brie digs through her backpack and tosses the car keys to Nikki. "Bye, bitch," she says, before following after Seth towards his car. 

"Love you, bitch," Nikki calls after her as she grabs her own bag.

She smiles at Kevin and Sasha, giving them a small wave goodbye along with a promise to text them later once practice ended.

 

* * *

 

Practice runs late, because of course it does. Practice itself, technically ended on time, but then the coach asked Nikki to stay back and help out a few of the new freshman girls out. She obliged, like a good captain. She kicked the ball around with Alexa, Nia and Carmella for a couple more hours, until it was dark out and they were all exhausted. 

It's past seven by the time Nikki's getting in her car and starting the drive home. As she pulls up to the first red light, she starts flipping through the radio, trying to find a good song so she could settle on a station. An old, sweet love song fills her car, and it's pretty, so Nikki lets it play as she starts moving again. Some of the lyrics remind her of Seth, and she smiles to herself.

Sure, her relationship with Seth has its flaws, as does he, but she's mostly happy with him. They got together early the year before, after their friends had been trying to get them together since they were freshmen. She was a pretty soccer player, he was a handsome basketball player. A perfect match, everyone claimed. Nikki's not sure if they're necessarily the match made in heaven like people like to say, but she does like him.

She pulls up to another red light and reaches for her phone on her passenger seat. Now that Seth's on her mind, she wants to check to see if he's texted or called, and she wants to make sure he got Brie home safe. There's nothing from him when she checks, but mere seconds after picking up her phone, it starts to ring. Her smile widens, thinking it's him, and that maybe they are as connected and perfectly matched as people think. 

The call is coming from a blocked number, and she debates answering it. Definitely not Seth. But she just gave her number out to the girls she'd worked with. Maybe it was one of them? She clicked 'accept', just in case.

"Hello?" she greets. 

She waits.

No response. As she waits, the light turns green, and she begins driving again. 

"Hello?" she tries again, raising her voice slightly. Maybe they can't hear her. "Is anyone there?"

"Hello, Nikki."

She feels uneasy, just from the sound of the stranger's voice and their tone.

"Hi, who is this?" she asks, trying to hide how she's feeling. 

Momentary silence, and then finally, a reply. "Do you like scary movies, Nikki?" 

Chills. All down her back, all the way through her to her fingertips. It's not a voice she's ever heard before, and she's not sure she wants to be hearing it now. It's deep, almost unrealistically so. There's a static around it, and it sounds almost robotic. The tone of this person's voice didn't sit right with Nikki. It sounded ominous almost. Threatening, even when asking a simple question. 

"I'm sorry, who is this?" she repeats. 

The caller laughs, and Nikki swallows hard. 

"Aren't you going to answer my question?" they ask.

"Are you going to answer mine?" she questions. 

Another laugh in response.

"I'm hanging up," she tells them.

Before she can, the caller stops her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She knows she has the power, but she feels frozen with the phone to her ear. It's dark out now, and she steps on the gas, speeding up a little. 

"Do you like scary movies?" they ask again. "Answer me."

Nikki gulps. "No." 

"No?"

"No. I don't like scary movies. Who is this?"

Once again, her question is ignored. "What about your sister?"

Her heart starts racing. How do they know she has a sister? "What about her?" she asks, her voice trembling. 

"Does your sister like scary movies?"

Nikki hangs up the phone, tossing it back into the seat beside her. She's turning onto her street, and she sees her mom's car in the driveway. She just needs to get inside, and she'll feel safer. Her hands are shaking, though she doesn't know why. A dumb prank call shouldn't upset her this much.

"Grow up, Nikki," she whispers to herself as she pulls up to her house. 

She moves as quickly as she can, grabbing her bag and all but running to her front door. The house is empty when she steps through the front door, but she can dishes clanking in the kitchen. Probably her mom cooking. She locks the door behind her and starts up the stairs to her room. 

"Hi, mom," she yells as she's halfway up the stairs. "Bye, mom!" 

In her room, she throws her things down, and then immediately turns around again, stepping back out into the hall. She needs to talk to Brie, and get someone to agree with her that that call was creepy and weird, but obviously just some disturbed prank. Brie's door is shut, which is weird. She usually keeps it open whenever she's home and awake. Nikki doesn't bother knocking, just bursts right in. The room looks untouched. The bed's still perfectly made from that morning. Her backpack is nowhere to be seen. There was nothing that made it seem like Brie had been home that afternoon. Weird.

"Hey, mom," Nikki shouts, going downstairs yet again. She steps into the kitchen, where her mom is in fact standing at the stove, stirring something around in a pot. "Where's Brie?"

Her mom furrows her brow, glancing at her daughter. "I thought she was with you."

"I was at soccer practice," Nikki tells her. 

"Huh," Mrs. Bella says, turning back to her cooking. "She's probably just with Roman."

Nikki purses her lips. Unlikely, but not impossible. She takes out her phone, which has taken residence in her hoodie pocket now, and opens her texts. She checks again, but there's nothing from Brie or Seth. Or Roman, for that matter. She sends a message to the group chat. 

_'where's my sister?'_

Sasha responds within thirty seconds. _'with Seth still?'_  


Seth's response comes right after. 'nope. I dropped her off and then went home.'

  
_'she's not here,'_ Nikki tells them.

  
_'okay, well idk where she is,'_ Seth texts back.

  
_Thanks for the concern,_ Nikki thinks, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him through the screen. 

"Everything all right?" Nikki's mom asks. 

Nikki smiles at her, giving her a thumbs up. "Yeah, 'course. Brie and Roman were bickering earlier. I'm sure they just got together to talk it out. Um, call me when dinner's done? I have homework."

"Alright, sweetie."

Nikki bounds back up the stairs and into her room, shutting the door behind her. She's probably right about Brie and Roman. It's late now, and Roman probably finished hanging with Dean and came to pick up Brie to apologize. They're probably too wrapped up in each other to pay attention to the group chat. Nikki scrunches her nose up in disgust at the thought, but it makes her feel better about her being MIA. Nikki knows she shouldn't worry, so she sits down to do her homework and tries not to think about it. 

 

* * *

 

Nikki does her homework, eats dinner with her mom, showers and then immediately falls asleep. She wasn't even ready for bed fully, but the second she sat down on her bed, she was out like a light. She was too weak to fight off the sleep that wanted to overtake her. She had no choice but to give in.

She's not sure what time it is when she's woken up, but there are flashing lights outside and a loud, incessant banging on the front door that startles her, and she jerks upright, her heart pounding. She stumbles out of her bedroom the same time her mom does, and they make their way down the staircase together, with Nikki trailing just behind her mother. Nikki can tell from the red and blue lights shining in through the window that whatever this is, it isn't good, and she has a bad, gut feeling about it. It takes her a second to notice that Brie's not with them, which means she never came home like her mom and her had assumed she would, after spending the night with Roman.

Nikki can feel tears welling in her eyes before they even open the front door for the pair of cops. She has a bad, bad feeling. The sympathetic looks on the officers' faces aren't helping any.

"Mrs. Bella?" the female cop asks. "We're very sorry. We've found your daughter..."

Nikki spends the rest of the night on the couch, holding her sobbing mother's hand and barely holding it together herself.


	2. baked goods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings galore for this one. Look out for stabbing, blood, murder and death.

Brie's supposed to be meeting Roman, but he isn't where he said he'd be and instead she's standing alone, in the dark, at the edge of the woods.

She checks her phone again, rereading Roman's original text.

_'Meet me in the woods near my house. I'm leaving now.'_

His house is only a fifteen minute walk from the woods, and his text had been sent 30 minutes ago. He should be there by now.

 _'Are you standing me up?'_ Brie texts back.

His response is automatic. _'No. I'm here.'_

She looks around around, but all she can make out in the darkness are the trees. She's really not amused.

_'Where?'_

_'Here. I see you.'_

Something about that text makes something turn in her stomach, making her feel uneasy. But this is Roman she's talking to. She knows she doesn't have to feel weird about anything when it comes to him, so she ignores it.

 _'You're being creepy,'_ she texts him. _'Is this you getting back at me for telling you not to come over? I obviously want to see you. Don't play games.'_

_'I like games.'_

Brie rolls her eyes at the screen. She's never seen this side of Roman, but she supposes she finally went too far and crossed a line with the Dean thing. She knows they're close, but come on. Why was he being so annoying about it?

_'I don't. Where are you?'_

_'In the woods. Walk further.'_

Brie hesitates. A part of her has to question why Roman's purposely trying to scare her - he knows she's always been creeped out by the woods. It's why she's never gone there with him, despite him trying to get her there more than a few times, saying he wanted to show her something. She was always too freaked out to go.

On the other side of that, she doesn't think Roman would mislead her or trick her in anyway, so she starts walking.

"Roman?" she calls out after a few seconds of walking. "I'm getting scared, babe. Can you come out, please?"

A moment later, her phone buzzes again with another text from him. _'No. Keep going.'_

She takes a couple more steps forward, but she can't ignore the feelings of uneasiness anymore. Something doesn't feel right. She stops walking, taking a second to look around her, trying to figure out just where she is, to see how far she's walked. Over her shoulder, she can no longer see the entrance of the woods. It's just trees all around her. There's a strong urge to turn around and run.

She gets another text and she holds her breath as she reads it. _'I said keep going. Don't you dare stop.'_

Chills go down Brie's back, and that's it. She's not playing anymore. Knowing that Roman's watching her from the shadows, not caring that she's scared, seemingly even getting a kick out of it - it scares her in a way she never thought possible. As much trust as she has in her boyfriend, there's nothing right about this. Everything feels off.

"Fuck you," she spits out before she turns and starts storming back the way she came.

She doesn't get very far.

As she's passing one of the trees, a masked figure steps out from behind it, causing Brie to stop dead in her tracks. The figure is dressed in a long black cloak that flows all the way to their black boots, with a hood that goes over their head. A white mask covers their face, with a wide open mouth that looks like it's screaming. Which is exactly what Brie does at the sight of them - she screams.

The figure silences her with a stab to the gut, pulling a knife from their sleeve and thrusting it into Brie - once, twice, three times. When they pull the knife out for the third time, Brie falls to the ground, taking quick, shallow breaths as she stares up into the black eyes of the mask.

They stand above her, watching as she wraps her arm around her stomach, trying to put pressure on the wounds and stop the bleeding, but it's pointless and they both know it. Moving slowly, they drop to their knees above her, raising the knife high in the air before plunging it into her chest now. They do it again and again until the life leaves Brie's eyes.

Satisfied, the masked killer stands again. Grabbing Brie's arm, he begins dragging her in the direction she'd been going in the first place. 

 

* * *

 

 "They found her in a treehouse," Nikki tells Sasha, in tears, as they sit on Sasha's bed together. Neither of them went to school that day. Once Nikki told Sasha what had happened, how could she? Nikki had to get out of her house for a little bit, and Sasha nearly demanded she come over. 

"An anonymous caller called the cops, said they heard screaming coming from deep within the woods," Nikki tries to tell all the details to Sasha. Or at least, everything she knows. "The cops searched and they ended up finding this old, abandoned treehouse. When they went inside..."  

She has to stop as she starts sobbing again, and Sasha hands her a tissue from the box on the bed between them as she pats Nikki's hand. Nikki's not stopped crying since the night before, since the cops showed up. Her house has been full of them since then, wanting to question both her and her mom, wanting to go through Brie's things to try and figure out who could have done this to her - even though they said they already had a suspect. 

"And they really think Roman did this?" Sasha asks, in disbelief. She shakes her head, and Nikki understands how she's not believing it. Nikki almost doesn't either. She knows Roman. She knows how much he loves Brie. He's not the kind of guy who would ever hurt someone else - especially not Brie. 

But, it's not looking good for him. The cops questioned his parents and according to them, he wasn't home when they came home from work. Nor did he ever come home that night. The police still can't find him. 

"I guess," she answers. 

Sasha appears to be thinking it all over. "Him being MIA is pretty sketchy, but... it's _Roman_." 

Nikki can only shrug. She cares less about Roman and whether he's guilty or not, and more about the fact she's just lost her sister. She feels like half of her is gone. She feels guilty, like she could have done something. Maybe if she had skipped practice like she'd wanted, and been there to stop this from happening. She feels like she's going to have a hole in her heart for the rest of her life.

She can't imagine ever feeling happy, or anything close to it again. 

"You still with me?" Sasha asks, her voice softening as she stares at Nikki, watching her intently, worried. 

Nikki nods. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Sorry, just..."

"Don't apologize, I get it." 

She doesn't though, Nikki can't help but think. She doesn't get how Nikki's feeling - but Nikki appreciates the sentiment regardless. 

"Don't take this wrong way, but you look really tired," Sasha tells her. Nikki usually would take that the wrong way. 'Tired' was just the nice way of telling someone they looked like shit. But today, she knows Sasha's right. She's barely slept, she's been crying for hours upon hours. She is exhausted, both physically and mentally. But she can't sleep. She knows she won't be able to, and even if did somehow manage to drift off, she thinks it's a safe bet her sleep will be ruined by nightmares. There's no point in trying.  

"I feel really tired," Nikki says. "I actually might head home." 

"Are you sure?" Sasha asks. "I don't want you surrounded by all those cops." 

Nikki nods. She doesn't want that either. It's just another reminder she doesn't need. "They're probably gone by now." 

A quick glance at her phone tells her it's past three. Surely they weren't still there. Plus, school was out, and she'd probably have Seth come over. So even if they were, she'd have him to hide away with. 

"Um, give me a ride home, though?" she asks, and Sasha's already climbing off of the bed and slipping a pair of shoes on. 

 

* * *

 

"What do you mean you aren't coming over?" Nikki asks her boyfriend over the phone. "You said this morning you would after school..."

 "That was before you threw me under the bus," Seth responds, frustrated. 

Apparently, Nikki wasn't the only one who spent the late night and early morning hours talking to cops. Seth found himself talking to a few cops that morning, too. After finding out from Nikki that Seth had taken Brie home, he's on record as the last person to see Brie alive. While he doesn't think he's the main suspect, not with Roman missing, he knows it doesn't look good for him. 

He'd hated being interrogated. For three hours, he sat in a room with cops, telling and retelling his story, but the details never changed. 

"We left school, we drove straight to her house, I said 'bye, Brie', she said 'later, Seth', and then she went inside and I drove home," Seth had told them again and again. They kept asking him to tell it again, as if anything would change. But he stuck to his story. 

He's on their radar now, and he feels like a criminal all because Nikki had to throw his name out there. 

"I did not throw you under the bus!" she argues. "They asked me when the last time I saw her was, and I said she left with you. I didn't say I thought you killed her, Seth."

"You might as well have because that's how they're treating me," he tells her. 

"Seth," she starts, her voice breaking as a fresh wave of tears start flowing. "I need my boyfriend right now."

He doesn't say anything at first, but then he sighs, sounding annoyed. "I can't come over right now, sorry," he simply says before ending the call. 

Nikki stares at the phone in her hand, her mouth hanging open a little in disbelief. Was he really that mad that he'd been questioned because of her, he wasn't going to be there for her at all now? If she wasn't already crying, she would be now. 

Her house was free of cops when she got home. It was free of everyone. Her mom had gone to her ex-husband's house, to talk to him about the loss of their daughter, but Nikki had opted to stay home, thinking Seth would be there with her. Instead, she's alone - and boy, does she feel it. She debates calling Sasha or Kevin, maybe both of them, and asking them over, or maybe going back to Sasha's. She has an open invitation, after all. 

She doesn't though. She tosses her phone to the side and curls up in her bed. Her eyes are burning from all the tears she's cried and from how tired she is, and they shut against her control, too heavy to stay open any longer. All she can see in her mind are images of her sister, crying, bleeding and screaming for help. She can only imagine what the last moments of her life were like, and she can't stop herself from thinking about it. God, she wishes she could have prevented this...

Eventually, Nikki is able to cry herself to sleep. When she wakes, she's not sure how long she's been out for, or what time it is. The sun is still in the sky, so it can't be too late. She's not sure what woke her at first, until she hears a loud knocking on the front door. She gets up, still groggy and trudges out of her room and down the stairs. She thinks it might be Seth - or, she's hoping it's Seth. Maybe he's changed his mind and decided to come over to apologize for being such a dick on the phone. 

However, when she opens the door, it's not Seth. 

"Becky?" she says as she looks at the girl standing on her porch, a Tupperware container in her arms. "What are you doing here?"

The orange haired girl gives Nikki a smile, sympathetic and warm. "I wanted to... you know..." she starts, trailing off, like she's trying to find the best words to use, trying to be sensitive. "I wanted to give you my condolences. Oh, and these brownies." She offers the container to Nikki. "I wanted to bring you something, and comfort food's always a good option." 

Nikki looks down at the brownies. She's not even thought about food all day. She hasn't had a thing to eat, and the sight of brownies remind her of that. She's not sure if she'll be able to eat, her stomach's been in knots all day, but she knows she has to try. Brownies might not be a healthy option, but they'd do. She looks at Becky again and forces a small smile. "Thanks, Becky." 

"Of course," Becky says. "No problem. If there's anything I can do, tell me. Please. I know this must be hard. And I mean, you have your friends, and your boyfriend, obviously, if you wanna talk. But maybe it'd be easier to open up to someone who isn't a friend. Or, that close of a friend. Not that I don't think you're my friend - Wow. Um, I'm sorry. You don't need to deal with my rambling right now. I'll shut up. Sorry."

Despite what Becky says, her rambling is the least stressful thing Nikki's encountered all day. It makes her raise her eyebrow at the other girl, but it's amusing as well. 

"Thanks, Becky," she says again. "I appreciate the offer. And I appreciate you coming over. I know you and Brie weren't exactly friends..."

That was putting it lightly. Brie had teased Becky incessantly, and no way did Becky like her whatsoever. Nikki doubts Becky would have come over at all if it wasn't for, well... her not-so-secret crush on Nikki. 

"Not really," Becky shrugs, glancing down at her feet. "But still. It's still messed up what happened."

Nikki nods solemnly. She's not sure how much Becky knows, how much of Brie's murder is public knowledge now, but she supposes word travels fast. Becky probably knows everything Nikki does. 

"Yeah, it is..." Nikki agrees, clutching the brownie container tight in her hands, her knuckles turning white. "Really messed up."  

She can feel herself wanting to cry again, so she has to wrap this conversation up quickly or else she'll start sobbing in front of Becky. 

"Um, you have my number, yeah?" Becky asks, and Nikki nods. "Okay. Feel free to call, or text me whenever. Seriously, I'll be around if you need me."  

She steps forward a little awkwardly, putting an arm out, and Nikki takes the hint, filling the gap between them and wrapping an arm around Becky's shoulders in a one-armed hug. Becky smiles at her again as she backs away, starting back down the walkway to Nikki's front door. It's only then that Nikki notices Becky hadn't come alone. A car is parked in front of her house, and Sami is seated in the drivers seat. Finn is in the backseat, leaning forward and whispering with Sami, his face serious. After a couple of moments, he notices Nikki watching them, and he stops talking once their eyes meet. Sami turns to face forward and Nikki locks eyes with him next. Unlike Becky, neither of her friends had soft, warm smiles to send her way. Sami does give her one, but it seems forced and awkward. Finn simply leans back in his seat, avoiding anymore eye contact with her. Giving that she's never spoken more than a handful of words to either of them, this doesn't surprise her. 

Nikki stays in her doorway until Becky's climbed into the passenger seat of the car and they've driven off. 

 

* * *

 

 The next morning, Nikki's mom is gone again. She's with Nikki and Brie's dad again. Funeral planning now. Nikki just can't be a part of that kind of stuff. It destroys her to even think about. Her parents are much stronger people than she is to be able to do this sort of thing so soon after.

She's not alone today though. She slept through the afternoon, taking a sleeping aid to ensure she was able to. When she woke, it was to texts from both Sasha and Kevin, asking if they could come by after school. Not wanting to be by herself anymore, wanting some sort of distraction, she invites them over. 

She makes sure to let them know Seth can come, too. But when Kevin's car pulls up to her house, it's just him and Sasha who step out of it. Looks like Seth's still mad. 

"He'll get over it," Sasha assures Nikki as the three of them wander into the kitchen, taking seats around the island. 

"Okay," Nikki says. She doesn't want to talk about Seth. The less negativity in her life at the moment, the better. And Seth, at the moment, was a source of negativity. 

"Have you been fucking stress baking or something?" Kevin asks, looking over all the dishes and Tupperware containers of food spread on the island and counter. "Why do you have so much food?" 

Becky hadn't been the only one to bring comfort food. A lot of neighbors and friends of the family had had the same thought. All morning, people had been coming over to talk to Nikki's mom before she'd left, bringing dishes of casseroles and lasagnas and cakes and cookies with them. 

"People bring food whenever there's a tragedy," Nikki tells him, feeling her eyes start to glaze over at the word. Tragedy.

Such a fucking tragedy. 

"Ooh, brownies." He starts reaching for a container, only for Sasha to smack his hand away. "What the fuck?"

"Those aren't yours," she snaps at him. "Have some respect, please."

Nikki puts a hand up. "It's fine, it's fine," she insists, mostly to stop them from having one of their bickering matches. "Eat whatever. My mom's not been hungry and I can't eat this all myself. Take a brownie, Kev."

He sends a smug look in Sasha's direction before grabbing the container, pulling the lid off and taking a brownie out. 

"Who brought all this stuff?" Sasha asks out of curiosity, surveying the goods before her. "Anyone I know?" 

Nikki thinks. "Um, mostly neighbors and family friends. I think my mom said Mrs. Stratus brought that cake." She nods at a chocolate cake on the island near Sasha. "Oh, and Becky."

"Becky?" Sasha raises her eyebrows. "She showed up at your house? Really stepping up that creep game."

Nikki sighs, shaking her head. She's not in the mood for her friends to be mean for no reason, but she's not in the mood to stop them either. 

"What'd she bring?" Sasha continues. "You better make sure she's not trying to poison you with a love potion or something."

Nikki ignores the last part of Sasha's comment and points a finger towards Kevin. "She brought brownies."

Kevin stops chewing and stares at the brownie in his hand, like he's debating spitting it out. Then he shrugs and keeps eating. "Weirdo can bake." 

Sasha furrows her brow at him. "Really? You just keep eating them?"

There's a beeping noise coming from the living room, and Nikki recognizes it as her phone. She leaves her friends to talk so she can grab her phone that she'd left on the couch. She's half expecting a text from Seth. Usually when they fight, he goes silent for a day or so and then will text an apology or some sort of olive branch. But the name on her phone does not say Seth.

It says Roman. 

Nikki falls to the couch, her palms starting to sweat as she stares at her phone. Roman's texting her? Roman who is supposed to be missing. Roman who the police think killed her sister. She has to push herself to open the text and read it. What could he possibly have to say to her? 

_'Hi.'_

_Hi?_ Nikki thinks. That's it? Before she can over analyze too much, a second text pops up 

_'I know you don't like scary movies... but maybe you'll like being in one.'_

Her heart is about to race out of her chest. What the hell does that mean? 

_'Your sister didn't.'_

Nikki drops her phone, and it hits the ground with a thud. She's going to be sick.  

"Nikki?" It's Kevin's voice calling her name, and she's too in her own head to notice the sound of footsteps approaching her. But suddenly, Kevin and Sasha are both at her side. Sasha's sitting on the couch beside her, touching her arm and trying to get her to look at her. But Nikki's frozen. 

Kevin kneels down, grabbing her phone off the floor and looking at it. Nikki only realizes he's read the texts when she hears him whisper a soft, "Oh God."

"Roman," Sasha gasps a second later, once Kevin's showed the phone to her. "Nikki..." She puts a gentle hand on Nikki's cheek, forcing her to look at her, attempting again to pull her from the daze she'd fallen into. Nikki blinks, and she's mostly there again.

The doorbell rings, making all three of them jump.

"I got it," Nikki manages to mutter, using Sasha's knee and Kevin's shoulder to push herself to her feet. She goes for the front door, and her friends are trailing right behind her. When she opens it, no one is there and there's not a soul in sight. Not even a car driving down the street. 

Nikki starts to think she'd been ding-dong-ditched, until Kevin speaks, "Um. Look down."

At their feet was a dish, filled with what looked to be chocolate chip cookies and covered with plastic wrap. Nikki bent down to pick it up. On top, there was a note, which Nikki read out loud, "Condolences to the Bella family for the loss of their daughter Brie. I'll send another batch after I tear Nikki apart, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr @ owensbella. I'd love to hear who you all think the killer might be? Or killers, if you think there's more than one, since the movies usually have 2, and the show did as well. I'm not saying anything though. ;P  
> It might be too soon to tell, but I'd like to know your thoughts anyway!

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 to come soon! Find me on Tumblr @ owensbella :)


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